Wilderness Safaris

Sustainability Practices

Everyone has a responsibility to respond to the global warming phenomenon. We see our own role as threefold: 1) We contribute to the economic viability of existing carbon sinks and remaining wilderness areas of southern Africa and by doing so ensure the sustainability of their conservation. As a result we ensure that the capacity of the planet to reabsorb carbon in the areas we operate is not reduced. 2) We strive to reduce our own energy use and have set targets for reduction over the next five years. We achieve this through greater efficiencies, through constant measurement and through alternative energy sources, such as solar, that are renewable and environmentally friendly. 3) We provide a learning platform for our guests and staff that increases awareness of the global warming phenomenon and provides guidelines for how individuals can contribute to its solutions. We employ a variety of media to build and promote environmental awareness in a number of different constituencies )(staff, peers, guests). 1) our website attempts to bring environmental issues and the role of ecotourism in mitigating them to the fore. 2) all our printed collateral (sales and otherwise) aims to fulfill a similar role to our website. 3) we attend a number of industry conferences per annum and present elements of our ecotourism model to our peers. 4) we regularly interact with our peers - both partners and competitors - to share technology and policy. 5) we hold regular internal meetings to raise conservation consciousness in all our staff and include environmental facts and tips in two regular internal newsletters/bulletins. 6) we provide funding to independent researchers and students with publicaiton of results a stipulation of funding." A percentage of profits after tax and depreciation are ploughed back into funding the conservation and environmental activities of the group. In addition a small portion of each bed night sold goes to the Wilderness Wildlife Trust (www.wildernesstrust.com) and is used for the funding of independent research projects all over southern Africa. Perhaps more important that these two elements is the fact the a viable ecotourism business provides direct financial benefit to partners in the form of national governments, national conservation agencies and neighbouring communities. All three of these entities are critical to the success of African conservation and it is necessary for ecotourism to provide revenue in the form of wages, taxes, lease fees, revenue share, equity stakes and other mechanisms so as to ensure that conservation is as financially rewarding (and more sustainably so) than other industries such as mining, forestry, hydro-electric schemes, agriculture and so on." We empower local people and ensures receipt of financial benefits from ecotourism in the following ways: 1) joint venture ecotourism projects: through equity stakes, revenue share, lease agreements or traversing fees we ensure that financial benefits flow into local communities. 2) employment: we employ preferentially from local communities wherever possible and whenever appropriate skills are available. On average across the 1600 camp staff in 7 countries, 85% of staff come from local communities. 3) capacity building: where skills are not available we provide training programmes. On average 56% of the camp staff have not been employed in hospitality or ecotourism before. This figure is higher than 80% in some camps. 4) community development: in certain scenarios we partner with communities and sometimes NGOs to build specific facilities such as schools and clinics. 5) children environmental education programmes: we run a hugely successful Children in the Wilderness programme that hosts around 400 kids in our camps every year.